Harper Woods

Harper Woods police, fire get pink slips

By April Lehmbeck
C & G Staff Writer

HARPER WOODS — The first day of February was a rough one for acting City Manager Randolph Skotarczyk, a day on which he had to make a decision that he called one of the worst things he’s ever had to do.

He had to issue police and fire layoff notices.

“Due to the current financial situation in Harper Woods, we’re facing and have been dealing with a deficit that is over $1.6 million,” he said. “I have been forced to issue layoff notices to four police officers, four firefighters and the elimination of our civilian aid program in the Police Department.

“This is painful for all of us,” he said.

Skotarczyk was given the power to cut staffing levels at a recent City Council meeting.

The layoff notices were scheduled to be issued on Feb. 1, with layoffs effective in March.

The city is pursuing options for bringing in funding that could help matters, but nothing is guaranteed. If, however, they find a way to bring employees back, Skotarczyk said, they will do so.

“We are looking at avenues of funding,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’re tax maxed.

“I have an obligation to be fiscally responsible,” he said. “We have to have a budget in which our expenditures equal our revenues.”

That is a high order, as 2013 is projected to see a 39 percent gap between expenditures and revenues.

He praised the employees for coming up with some concessions, which he said in better times would have been considered good concessions, but they were not enough.

As the former police chief, he said, this is especially hard for him. He said he personally hired some of the ones who are getting laid off.

Skotarczyk said if he doesn’t act now, though, the city will be in “an extremely perilous” situation.

“These are really unprecedented times,” he said.

Both police and fire union representatives are concerned about the layoffs and how they will impact their respective departments.

The police had opened up their contract and made concessions, and the fire union was working on contract negotiations.

“We are wide open to continuing to try to work out a completely concessionary contract with the acting city manager to help during this 10-year-old financial crisis that dates all the way back to 2001, when six of the seven current members of City Council began running the budget annually in a deficit for ten consecutive years,” firefighter/paramedic David Micallef, president of the local firefighters union, said in an email.

Micallef is one of the four firefighters set to be laid off.

“I’m very concerned for my future, as I know the firefighter-paramedic under me in seniority is as well,” Micallef said. “However, him and I aren’t married with children yet. I get sick when I think of the two guys above me with two wives and seven small children between them.

He is worried about how this will reduce the level of service, which he said was acknowledged in his layoff notice. The manpower in the department has dropped significantly from its peak of 21 to seven.

“At some point, ‘more with less’ becomes ‘less with less,’” Micallef said. “I fear that with only a seven-man department running 2,100 fire and EMS calls, the city will close our advanced life support ambulance.”

He is concerned for the residents, he said.

“We will be following the proper channels to try to stop these layoffs, as well as continue bargaining in good faith with the acting city manager,” he said.

The firefighters union Facebook site had a number of comments from supporters concerning the layoffs, as well.

“This decision is the death of this city,” vocal resident Susan Uhl stated on the firefighters’ Facebook page. “I don’t blame Mr. Skotarczyk. In fact, I think he’s doing a good job, has some good ideas and realizes where the problems lie. I blame the ‘leaders’ (and I use that term very loosely) of this city who have neglected the budget problems for so long that it’s come to crisis point.”

Local Police Officers Association Union President Michael Lynch also raised concerns, but said the union will continue to work with the council and administration.

“From my perspective, this is just a detriment to the community,” Lynch said. “We, this department, have worked tirelessly in this community.

“Just last month, we voluntarily opened up our contract and (made) approximately $1.2 million in concessions,” he said. “Everything that we’ve done has been for the betterment of the community and for the people that live and work here.”

He is concerned about how the layoffs will impact the department in that it is one of few departments that a resident can walk up to the police window and ask for an officer by name, Lynch said.

Lynch is also concerned the city may end up losing that personal factor.

“It’s just definitely sad,” Lynch said. “Hopefully, this can be resolved through negotiations, through speaking to the community leaders.”

He said they work for the safety of the residents and will move forward working with city leaders. The city may be relatively small population-wise, but it is near a large city, has a freeway, mall and nine schools, Lynch said.

“We’re into the 1,000s for arrests,” he noted. “We have violent crimes on the rise all around us.”

“We’re more than willing to do what needs to be done here,” Lynch said. “Despite the layoffs, we’re going to continue to work hard.”

Police Chief James Burke echoed those thoughts. He wanted to reassure residents that the department will persevere, saying that “no matter what, we’re going to provide a high level of service to the community.”

Council member Charles Flanagan, who campaigned last fall on his concerns about the needs of the Police Department and crime, is not happy with the decision to lay off police officers.

He pointed to a recent arrest of a serial burglary suspect involving multiple communities as a reason why the department needs to stay strong.

Harper Woods Detective Lt. Ted Stager’s interrogation led to a confession from the thief, whose crimes involved multiple businesses in Harper Woods, Detroit and Eastpointe.

“Detective Stager, a former Detroit police officer, clearly demonstrates the issue in which I have been attempting to enlighten the citizenry,” Flanagan said. “Crime has no borders.

“The important message from this is two-fold,” Flanagan added. “One is that this was very time-consuming investigative proactive police work, and the Fire Department wants to talk about calls for service.”

He called into question the number of fires the Fire Department tackles compared with what he believes are significant and many events the police have to handle. Flanagan did not refer to the number of ambulance runs to which the firefighters must respond.

“Concerning the cuts, I’m very unhappy,” Flanagan said. “This is not entirely the firefighters’ fault; as I have indicated, (former City Manager) James Leidlein should have successfully implemented public safety five years ago rather than waste tax money and years in frivolous litigation when the City Charter is clear, before putting the issue on the ballot.”

With many police deaths in the line of duty on routine events, Flanagan said, he believes the city needs two-person patrol cars.

“I predict the cutting of police will lead to more taxpayer flight, lower property values, slower recovery of property values — if any — increased crime, and a level of service unacceptable to the residents,” Flanagan said.

Mayor Ken Poynter, one of those six council members to whom Micallef referred, flatly disputed the 10-year deficits claim.

“We haven’t been running budget deficits for 10 years,” Poynter said.

The budget problems began when assessments started to drop in 2007 and 2008, according to the mayor. Since that time, the city has saved $2 million to $3 million with efforts like not filling vacant positions and early retirements, Poynter said.

They have tried to prevent layoffs and keep services the same, but property assessments keep plummeting with a projected 16 percent drop coming up this year.

“These assessments just keep getting worse and worse,” Poynter said.

“Now, we’re at the point where with this latest drop in assessments, we have to make some hard decisions,” he said, adding that this is happening in many communities, not just Harper Woods. “Money is not there, and people have to understand the fact that the money is not there.”

Poynter said he too is concerned about the layoffs.

“No. 1, we appreciate the job our employees have done, all of our employees,” Poynter said. “We don’t want to lose any of our employees.”

He said he hopes that through negotiations with employee groups that some or all of the layoffs can be prevented.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer April Lehmbeck at alehmbeck@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1043.